Hold On Longer
by waitingforyouonce
Summary: When it comes to saving the woman he loves, Stefan will do whatever it takes. Even travel back in time and deal with his past if necessary. Stefan/Bonnie
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - I know the last thing I need to do is start another story, but I've been doing a rewatch of Charmed and I couldn't get the idea of this out of my mind.**

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**Mystic Falls - June 2020**

Laughter and loud talking fill up the ballroom. People flutter around mingling with each other and servers move around quietly handing out glasses of wine. The large crowd happily celebrates Caroline and Tyler's upcoming wedding. It had taken them awhile to get to this point, but now friends, family, other well-wishers are more than happy to help them celebrate at their rehearsal dinner.

Outside on the balcony, stands Stefan, who is staring out at the horizon. He came out to get some air, having grown slightly uncomfortable in crowd of people. Aside from his ripper days, he'd never really been big on parties. He would much rather be at home spending time with his wife, but Caroline and Tyler are good friends and he knows it's important for him to be there for them.

"I thought I'd find you out here." Bonnie's voice interrupts his thoughts, causing a smile to appear on his face.

He spins around and is greeted to the beautiful sight of Bonnie's short frame smiling at him with a knowing look on her face. She looks fantastic in her sleeveless blue cocktail dress. His gaze moves down to her protruding stomach and he feels the warmth flutter in his body. Since becoming a vampire, he assumed that fatherhood was out of realm of possibilities for him. But through some kind of miracle it's happened and the knowledge that he's having a child that will have the best parts of both of them is incredibly appealing.

"So how are my two favorite people?" He asks as Bonnie slowly walks closer to him.

"We're both fine. A little tired, but fine." She reassures him with a bright smile as she rubs her stomach.

"Caroline is really working you today." He cups her cheek in sympathy, the blonde vampire had been moving around frantically ever since the rehearsal dinner had started and as matron of honor, Bonnie had been obligated to do much of the same.

"Yeah" She laughs. "According to her, being six months pregnant doesn't mean I'm absolved from helping make sure the rehearsal dinner continues to run smoothly."

"It's a shame Elena isn't here to pick up some of the slack." He knows Elena will be attending the wedding, but part of him wishes that she had been able to back sooner to help Bonnie with some of the details.

"She'd be here if she could. It's not her fault, Marcel got hurt." It had been a surprise when Elena had gotten together with Klaus' former protégé (they'd met when Elena had decided to travel the world a few years ago) but surprisingly the relationship works. They had been planning on flying in from Italy to help with the wedding details, but Marcel had been attacked, which delayed their return to Mystic Falls. "I'm glad they'll be here tomorrow thou-" Her sentence is cut short by a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Stefan looks at her worriedly, having heard her sudden gasp.

"Nothing" She reassures him. "I just felt a kick." It's not the first time she's felt it, but it is the first time it's been prominent. Wanting to share this with Stefan, she quickly grabs his hand and presses it to her belly. "Can you feel her kicking?"

"Wow." Stefan holds his hand to her stomach, completely in awe of his unborn daughter kicking from inside Bonnie's stomach. He continues gazing lovingly at her belly until he feels Bonnie's thumb stroke the back of his hand and then he's looking into her lovely green eyes.

They continue to gaze at each other, both slightly overwhelmed by the feelings this moment is provoking in them. After a few more moments, the kicking stops and Stefan slowly moves his hand from her belly.

She steps closer to him, placing her hands on his shoulders before smiling up at him, "I can't believe we're going to be parents. It's almost hard to believe."

"Yeah" Stefan agrees pulling her closer before rubbing his cheek against the top of her head.

She pulls away slightly, watching with interest as he leans down before taking her mouth hungrily. She opens up to him willingly, stroking her tongue over his with need that surprises her slightly. Kissing Stefan has always sparked immediate arousal in her, but with her pregnancy it has increased that feeling tenfold.

The kiss grows deeper instantaneously and Stefan rakes his hands through her hair as hers wrap tightly around his neck. Unable to could stop himself, he begins backing her toward the one of the pillars on the large balcony

Bonnie gasps, pulling away slightly when her back softly hits the target. She is just getting ready to speak when Stefan finds her lips again, his tongue immediately tangling with hers.

"What are you trying to do Stefan? Get her pregnant again?" Caroline's voice booms from the doorway.

Stefan groans into Bonnie's mouth and the two trade a few more kisses before they reluctantly separate. They turn toward the doorway and see Caroline standing there tapping her foot impatiently.

"Did you need something?" Stefan looks back at the blonde vampire, while wrapping his arms around Bonnie's shoulders.

"I need you two back in there right now, can't really have a rehearsal dinner without the best man and matron of honor." Caroline claps her hands together. "Chop chop." And with that she turns without waiting for a response from either of them.

"We'd better get in there before Caroline has meltdown" Bonnie looks up at him with a wide smile, wiping the stray lipstick from his lips.

"Okay." He smiles back and places her hand in his and the two slowly make their way back into the ballroom.

Bonnie's smile is the last thing he sees before there is loud explosion of fire and then all he sees is darkness.

-X-

**A Week Later…**

Elena and Caroline stand in the hallway watching Stefan as he sits on the bed he and Bonnie shared, obviously in anguish. It had been a week since Bonnie's death and it's still hard to believe she's gone. They had all been getting ready for the toasts when a large explosion suddenly irrupted. Many of the guests had succumbed to their injuries including Bonnie who had died right away from the impact. They still haven't figured out who caused the explosion, but they had known right away that it was supernatural related.

Naturally, the wedding had been canceled and the last week has been spent planning Bonnie's funeral, both women knowing right away that Stefan wouldn't be up to it. They called everyone who'd been part of their group once upon time including Damon, but he'd declined coming back to Mystic Falls. Not surprising since he'd told them outright that he wouldn't be returning ever again once he'd left with Katherine a few years ago. Still, they thought that he might make an exchange for his younger brother, but he obviously hadn't been willing to do that.

Elena and Caroline exchange a glance, knowing that one of them would have to go in and take the responsibility of getting Stefan to the funeral.

"I'll go" Elena decides, knowing that Caroline (along with Matt and Tyler) has spent the week trying to take care of Stefan. He'd spent most of the week angry and withdrawn and in some cases violent. Tyler had dealt with the brunt of it, but she knows that her two friends need a bit of a reprieve. "You should go and get the car ready and I'll try to hurry him along." She softly squeezes Caroline's before slowly making her way into the room and sitting on the bed next to him.

"I see you've gotten dressed and shaved." She glances at Stefan who continues to stare straight ahead. She had been surprised when she saw him a couple of days ago and he'd been so unkempt. He'd been wearing the same clothes for several days and had barely eaten anything. He'd also been sporting a beard, evidently forgone shaving something she had never seen him with in the all the years she'd known him..

Elena looks down at the bed and spies a black tie, clearly intended to go with the black suit he's wearing. "How about we get your tie on and then we can go." She says this as gently as possible.

"I…I c-can't."He stammers sadly, his voice quiet to the point that Elena has to use her vampire hearing to figure out what he's saying.

"Sure you can. You've gotten this far." She rests her hand on his shoulder, trying to give him some encouragement.

"You don't understand." He looks her and the devastation in his eyes is palpable. "Bonnie always tied my ties." He says as a tear rolls down his cheek. "It wouldn't feel right without her." As he says this his mind goes back to one of the first times she did it.

_"We have to get up or else we'll be even later for our own engagement party than we already are." Bonnie pulls away from Stefan's mouth and jumps out of bed before she pulls on the dress she picked out. _

_They had almost been out the door, when Stefan pulled her into a kiss that ended with them getting out of their clothes and into their bed. She doesn't regret it one bit, but it does mean they will be late for the party._

_When she glances at Stefan again she sees that he has managed to slip on everything but his tie and from the look on his eyes, she knows if he had his way they would end up right back in bed. Knowing Caroline and Elena would kill them; she decides to take matters into her hands and picks up the tie herself._

_Stefan grins happily when Bonnie drapes the tie around his neck and begins the process of tying it. The sensation of her hands at his neck fills him with happiness and he realizes that he loves the domesticity of the gesture. Bonnie fidgets with the tie a few times until it's no longer crooked before looking up into his eyes and briefly pecking him on the lips. "Now let's go get yelled at by Caroline."_

_She pulls away and Stefan decides right then and there that he wants her to be the one to tie all of his ties._

Stefan exhales sadly and Elena is unable to stop the stray tear from falling down her own face. She cried this entire week, but she had been trying to stay strong knowing that Caroline and Stefan would need her today. "It's okay; we'll leave the tie here." She wipes at her tears before helping him stand up and walking him out of the bedroom.

-X-

Hours later the funeral is over and Stefan has forced everyone to their own homes, wanting to be alone. There had been protests at first, but Stefan insisted and they reluctantly agree to leave him alone. He's changed into his usual black t-shirt and jeans attire and now is waiting anxiously for his acquaintance to arrive.

Ten minutes later there is a knock on the door and he rushes to open it, sighing in relief that it's who he had been expecting and not one of his friends. He knows they would only try to talk him out of what he plans to do.

"You're late." Is all Stefan says to the older African-American man that is standing in the door way.

"Sorry it couldn't be helped. Traffic." Nathan Barrow shrugs helplessly. "So what did you want to see me about?" Nate asks as Stefan moves aside so he can enter the house. He'd met Stefan nearly 20 years ago after he saved Nate and his entire family from a group of vampires. He'd been so grateful that he told Stefan he'd help with whatever he needed within reason. So far Stefan hasn't taken him up on the offer, but he has a feeling that today he will.

"I assume you heard what happened to my wife." Stefan knows the supernatural community has a tendency to gossip and what happened a week ago a been a very big deal.

"Yeah, I was really sorry to hear about that." Nate had only met Bonnie a handful of times, but he knew a lot about her because of her high reputation in the supernatural community. As a fellow witch, he'd come to appreciate just how much good she's done.

"I would like you to perform a spell to send me back in time. So I can stop the bastard that killed my wife my wife and child."

"You can't be serious?" Nate looks at him surprise. What he's asking is very risky and dangerous.

"I never joke when it comes to Bonnie's life." Stefan looks at him angrily. "Bonnie doesn't deserve what happened to her. After all the good that she's done there's no way in hell I'll ever believe this was supposed to happen. So I'm doing whatever it takes to get her back." He looks at Nate desperately, hoping the older man will help him.

"I get it Stefan I really do, but time travel can be very tricky and it's something I've only done a handful of times."

"But you can do it right?" Stefan narrows his eyes and waits for his answer.

"Well yeah, bu-" He begins, but is interrupted.

"No buts. I'm calling in my favor."

And Nate knows that Stefan is very serious about this.

"You do understand the risk you'll be taking by doing this." Nate looks at Stefan, making sure he understands the potential consequences.

"I can't do this without her." Stefan says with steel in his eyes and voice.

Nate sees the raw determination in his eyes and knows that nothing he says will change the vampire's mind. And honestly he doesn't really want to. He knows he would do the same thing if something like this were to happen to his own wife.

"Okay. I'll do it, but you should know that time travel isn't an exact science."

"What do you mean?" Stefan folds his arms across his chest.

"What it means is that you might not be sent back to the exact time you want." He says as he begins preparing the spell he needs. "You could be sent back a few minutes before her death or even several decades. You just never know and you have to be careful not to change too much about the past or it could have negative effect on the future."

"I'll wait for however long it takes. Bonnie's worth it."

"Stefan, there's one more thing." He walks closer to him. "Once you're there, you're on your own. I won't be able to contact you while you're in the past, which means you have to find your own way back. Are you still up for this?" Nate asks one last time despite knowing what Stefan's answer will be.

"Definitely" He says without any hesitation. "As long as Bonnie and our baby are alive again, nothing else matters."

"Let's get started." Nate begins reciting the spell and before long the two men see a portal open and realize that the spell has worked.

Stefan exhales and then begins walking over to the portal; however before he can jump in he turns to look at Nate. "Thank you."

Nate gives a nod of acknowledgement before dolling out two final words. "Good luck."

And then Stefan is jumping in the portal without another look back. Afterwards the portal lights up frantically for a few seconds before blinking out completely, almost as though it had never been there in the first place.

-X-

**Mystic Falls - November 2012**

Bonnie Bennett taps her feet impatiently as she waits for Damon and Stefan to get back from talking to Klaus about the cure. She knows it has to be awkward for the two vampires considering the fact that Stefan and Elena have just broken up and she's seeing Damon. Something that Bonnie isn't all that happy about if she's honest, but figures that she'll end up with Stefan again at some point. So she'll bite her tongue for the moment.

Right now she Caroline and Elena are waiting for them to come back so they can come up with a game plan about the cure. At the moment she's the only one Salvatore living room while Elena and Bonnie are elsewhere in the house. Bonnie is just about to look for them when the room lights up brightly causing her to shield her eyes.

When Bonnie looks up she sees Stefan in front of her staring at her with a strange look in his eyes. "Stefan, what's going on? How did you get here so fast? You and Damon were supposed be gone for awhile." She fires out the questions rapidly completely confused by his sudden appearance.

Stefan continues to stare at her silently, completely over whelmed her presence. This is the face of the woman he loves, albeit a younger version of her, but being able to look into her eyes and hear her voice again, fills him with a relief he can't explain.

"Stefan?" Bonnie walks closer to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" She's never seen him like this and she'd be lying if she said it didn't worry her.

"It worked." Stefan says with relief in his voice. He had been afraid it wouldn't.

"What worked?" She looks at him in confusion.

The feel of her hand on his shoulder makes him feel as though he's whole again and he has to fight the urge to pull her in the an embrace. Based on her clothing and the mention of Klaus and Damon he figures that this is a high school version of Bonnie. Knowing that he's confusing her he decides to answer at least one of her questions. However, before he can say anything the front door opens and in walks Damon and the past version of himself.

"I figured it would be a bust." Damon saunters into the living room and is about to ask Bonnie where Elena is when he sees another version of Stefan standing in front of her. "What the-?

In the meantime, Caroline and Elena rush into the room having heard Damon and Stefan's voices while they were upstairs.

Bonnie looks back in forth between the Stefan standing next to her and the one standing next to Damon. "What's going on?" Bonnie backs away from the Stefan she's closest to.

The sight of Bonnie backing away from him, causes Stefan's heart to drop, but he understands why she would be wary of him.

"Whatever's going on won't be going on for long." Damon levels out the threat.

"This explains why Klaus sent us on our way so quickly." Past Stefan looks at the man wearing his face with irritation.

Bonnie's mouth opens in shock and she begins to focus intensely on the imposter.

Stefan holds his hands to his head collapsing to his knees when he feels pain shoot through his head. "Wait!" He attempts to get out around the pain. "I can explain it's not what you think."

"Explain then." Damon throws out gestures at Bonnie to stop her attack.

"I'm a future version of you." He says this Stefan before turning to the rest of the group. "And I came to the past to save the woman I love." Stefan decides to tell them the truth, not having the energy to hide the real reason for his visit.

Everyone else in the room can only look at each other in shock, this being the last thing any of them expected to hear.


	2. Chapter 2

The room is quiet, each person taking in the news in their own way. Elena is reeling from the idea that Stefan has come from the future to save her, meaning they must get back together at some point. Past Stefan remains silent, still taking in the fact that the man wearing his face is a future version of him, though he's come the same conclusion as Elena about the state of their relationship. Bonnie and Caroline are similarly shocked and aren't quite sure what to believe, though they both lean toward it being the truth.

"You actually expect us to believe you're from the future? That time travel is possible." Damon snorts in disbelief, having been the first one to recover from the announcement. He's not so quick to believe him and if he is telling the truth, that opens up another can of worms. Either, he and Elena don't last or Stefan is still a thorn in their relationship however many years later. Not a very a appealing concept.

"You're standing in a room with several vampires and a witch and you seriously can't buy that time travel is possible." Stefan rolls his eyes in annoyance, having read the look in Damon's eyes. He'd actually forgotten how annoying he could be since he hasn't talked him in years.

"What you're talking about is impossible or extremely difficult at the very least." Bonnie knows there is a spell in one of her grimoires, but figured it was an outdated spell like many of the other spells in that particular grimoire.

"Not impossible at all." He softens the tone of his voice when he responds to Bonnie. "And not all that difficult if you find the right person to perform the spell." He folds his arms across his chest.

"How do we know you aren't trying to play us?" Caroline demands as she finally recovers from her initial shock.

"Because I was alone with the most powerful person in this room and didn't try to take her out" He looks at Bonnie surprising everyone in the room including Bonnie. "And since she thought I was you" He nods at Past Stefan, "It would have been fairly easy for me to make a move. If that's not enough I can prove it another way." He turns to face Caroline again.

"How exactly do plan on doing that?" Past Stefan is the one to speak this time.

"By telling you something that only you would know, something that you've never told anyone."

And with that Stefan walks over to his past self and whispers in his ear. Past Stefan opens his mouth in shock as one of his deepest secrets is revealed and he knows that this actually the future him.

"Well?" Damon snaps impatiently whenever neither man says anything.

"He's telling the truth. He's from the future." Past Stefan sighs slightly overwhelmed by the knowledge.

"Okay so you're telling the truth. How far in the future are we talking?" Damon decides to bite the bullet.

"This is 2012 right?" Stefan continues when they nod yes. "So eight years."

"Why so far back, unless whatever happens ends up happening now?" Elena poses the question, suddenly nervous that something bad will happen.

"Because time travel isn't an exact science." Bonnie answers the question, earning a small smile from Stefan. She's slightly surprised, but continues on anyway. "From what I've read, you could end up in the exact time you're aiming for or you end up several months or even years off."

"She's right." He confirms when he they all give him a questioning look. "I had no idea how far back I would land, just that I would. As long as I get the chance to save my wife, I don't care how long I have to wait."

"So what you're saying is that you risked everything to save one woman. What were you thinking?" Damon can't believe he would do something so stupid.

"I don't maybe the same thing you were thinking when you thought it would be okay to return to Mystic Falls and get Katherine back, not caring who went down in process." He throws out the barb, inwardly smiling when he sees the anger flair up in Damon's face. "The difference is the only life I plan on risking is my own."

"I guess you've got me." Damon hates to concede, but if Elena's in danger than it will be worth to deal with this sassy future version of his brother. "So Elena is danger. Not exactly new and nothing we can't handle."

"When exactly did I say I was here because of Elena" Stefan knows he probably should just let them think whatever, but the idea of them all believing he ended up with Elena bothers him for some reason. He ignores the disappointment on Elena's face, knowing she'll eventually find Marcel.

"You can't honestly expect us to believe you would go this far for anyone other than Elena." Damon scoffs and Stefan can tell he genuinely thinks it's impossible for either of them love anyone other than a Petrova.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." He'd forgotten how Elena-focused everyone was back then and he can't say he missed it one bit.

His voice is blunt and Damon has no idea what to think. The last two years have been spent competing with his brother for Elena's affections and now he's finding out he will actually win the girl.

Bonnie and Caroline exchange glances, both curious about the woman that managed to get Stefan's heart away from Elena.

Past Stefan reels from the information, both happy that he has apparently found someone, but sad that it doesn't work out with Elena. At the moment, he finds it difficult to believe he'll ever love anyone as much as he loved Elena. Still if he wants to be as happy as his future self seems to be, he knows that his future self need to lay low.

"You should stay here at the boardinghouse where we can keep an eye on you." Past Stefan looks at him. "I assume you know where the spare rooms are." He makes the offer before Damon or Elena can protest.

-X-

Stefan looks around the large bedroom, marveling at how much the room has changed in the future. The room is large, but other than the balcony, there is nothing really appealing about it at the moment. He picked this one because it was good distance away from Damon's room and because of the memories it holds for him. Once Bonnie moved into the boarding house they decided to convert this room into a photo studio/darkroom for her. She would spend hours locked in the room at times which meant he sometimes spent a lot of time in here as well.

_Stefan pushes the door open and is surprised to find Bonnie nowhere in the room, which means she's likely out on the balcony. When he gets to the door he sees Bonnie in her pajamas quietly taking pictures of the skyline. She's so engrossed in taking photos that she doesn't realize she's no longer alone. A wicked smirk pulls at his lips and he wraps his arms around Bonnie's middle, pulling her against him. She exhales and he begins placing kisses to her neck._

_"You're trying to distract me." Bonnie moans, leaning closer to his mouth. He really shouldn't be able to weaken her knees this way with a few kisses._

_"That was my goal when I came out here. Yes." He grins against her neck._

_"Well you should know that right now I only have one goal." She slips out of his embrace before she turns around and heads back inside with Stefan right on her heels._

_"What's that?" Stefan's voice turns flirtatious as he imagines the possibilities._

_"To take your picture." She grins at him playfully, laughing when he frowns in distaste._

_"Um I don't really like to have my picture taken." He shakes his head._

_"Tough. Now go stand over there." She points across the room where a backdrop is setup._

_The commanding tone of her voice sends a jolt to his groin and he can only do what she asks._

_She goes through several frames before she narrows her eyes at him._

_"Is something wrong?" He asks noticing the look on her face._

_"Don't get me wrong," She stops taking pictures for a moment. "This smoldering broody look you have going on is sexy, but it wouldn't kill you to smile." She really loves when it when he smiles. It's still not as often as she would like, but she's working on it._

_"I smile." He protests. "Just not on the rare occasion I end up taking pictures. What does it matter as long as you get a picture of me?"_

_They look at each other silently for a moment before Bonnie sighs and decides to explain why him smiling is so important to her._

_ "You have this inner light." She begins, continuing on when he still seems puzzled. "I think that was part of the reason I initially felt drawn to you when we first met." And she had at least until she realized he liked Elena and she realized that something was off about him. Bonnie looks through the lens and focuses. "And I really want to capture that. So smile. Be happy."_

_ Stefan attempts to smile, but despite his efforts Bonnie continues to make sounds of disapproval._

_"Now what's wrong?" He asks when he sees the aggravated look on her face._

_"You're trying too hard. I need to see the Stefan that I know and love. Just be yourself." She shifts slightly. "Think of something that makes you happy and focus on it."_

_Stefan's mind immediately goes to Bonnie and he thinks about how much he loves her and how happy she makes him. _

_ "That's it." Bonnie's voice turns almost sultry and Stefan wonders if she has any idea how sexy she sounds. It makes him think of the way she sounds mid-orgasm and his groin begins to harden. _

_Shaking those thoughts off, he decides to focus on her face and right away he feels happiness flow through his body. He wonders if he'll always feel this way whenever he looks at her and he quickly realizes that he will. _

_When they both got back from their prisons (him being locked in that safe and her being trapped on the other side) ,they had both been in a bad place. He had severe post traumatic stress and she'd been trying to deal with her father being killed right in front of her. The others tried to help, but it had been hard for them understand. As result he and Bonnie began withdrawing preferring to stay alone until they were forced together one night. After that they began hanging out regularly and it eventually developed into a solid friendship._

_He hadn't realized it then, but now he knows that the two of them reconnecting as friends that day had been fated. If that had never happened he never would gotten the chance to fall in love with her. _

_And it is in that moment that he realizes he wants to marry her._

_Suddenly, Stefan hears several clicks and realizes that he has been so focused on thinking about Bonnie that he had completely forgotten she was even taking pictures of him._

_"That's good." Bonnie smiles slightly before continuing. "Keep thinking about whatever it is that has you smiling that." _

_"Okay." He utters softly and he once again focuses on Bonnie. This time he notices the intensity that Bonnie has for photography. She dives into it the same way she dives into magic and it's because of this that he knows she loves it. _

_"You're so beautiful." Stefan says quietly with wonder in his voice._

_"Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you?" Bonnie blushes as she lowers the camera. _

_"I'm serious." He walks over to her. "You have this focus when you're behind a camera. It's in your eyes and it radiates off of you" He moves close enough that he can feel the warmth from her body. "Kind of like it does when you're reciting a spell. So sexy." His voice turns husky and his eyes darken. "I love seeing you this way."_

_Turned on by the look in his eyes, Bonnie carefully sets the camera down before pulling him down for a passionate kiss._

Stefan's musing is interrupted by a knock at the door and he sees Caroline poke her head in the door.

"Hey, can I come in?"

"Sure." He moves to sit down in one of the stray chairs in the room.

Caroline sits in a chair opposite him and stares at him intently.

"I know you want to ask about your future, but all I can tell you without screwing up the future is that you're in love and you're happy." He chuckles when she Caroline looks at him surprise, knowing he threw her off.

Caroline bites back her surprise, Bonnie is the only person that seems to be able to read her that way and she briefly wonders if Bonnie is the mystery woman Stefan is risking everything for. Just as quickly she dismisses the thought. Even though Stefan gets over Elena, she can't imagine Stefan and Bonnie getting that close.

"Really?" She smiles focuses on the little info she revealed about him. "Can you tell me who he is?" She hopes that it's Tyler, but knows there is a possibility it will be someone else.

"Nope."

"I had to try." She shrugs.

He is about to respond when they hear a loud crash. They both stand rush towards the noise and are shocked to see Jeremy holding Matt by the neck, attempting to choke the life out of him. He sees Elena, Bonnie, as well as Damon and his past self trying to talk him down, but so far it's not working.

Knowing he has the advantage of age as well as a little boost from Bonnie, he rushes over and easily pulls him way from Jeremy. As soon as Jeremy's pulled away, he seemingly comes to he senses and after he utters an apology he runs out, Elena right behind him. Naturally the past version of himself and Damon rush after Elena, but not before Damon demands that Bonnie keep an eye on their guest from the future. In the meantime, a shaken Matt asks Caroline to help him home which leaves Stefan alone with Bonnie.

"I guess I should l start looking for a way to help Jeremy." Bonnie says before she moves over to the dining room table where her grimoire is located.

"You're good this time." Stefan shakes his head as he sits across from her, not wanting her to waste her time. "From what I remember, for once they actually managed to get to the bottom of Jeremy's problem without needing you to be the fix-it witch."

Bonnie glances at him, slightly thrown off. She's used to the Stefan that generally only contacts her when he needs help with a magical problem. So to be sitting across from one that actually acknowledges how dependent everyone is on her to fix things, shocks her a little.

"What?" Stefan tilts his head playfully when she continues to stare at him.

"It's just that you seem so different."

"It's been eight years. It makes sense. Think about the amount things that have changed for you in the last couple of years." He points out.

"Yeah I guess you're right."Her gaze slides up to meet Stefan's probing one. "So tell me about the woman that you're risking you're life for. Was it similar to how you fell for Elena?" She really is curious the person that managed to pull him away from Elena.

"No actually, we were friends for a while before anything romantic happened. Stefan recognizes the irony in talking about his love for Bonnie to the younger version of her, but she seems and interested and being able to talk about Bonnie makes this whole situation a little easier. So he starts by telling her younger self about the moment he admitted it was more than friendship for him.

_"I'm gonna need you to explain something to me." Bonnie begins as she and Stefan prepare dinner in her kitchen. They'd been having these weekly dinners for a couple of years now and it's become something she looks forward to each week._

_"Explain what?" Stefan glances at Bonnie out his peripheral vision as he quickly chops an onion. Even through his peripheral vision he can tell that despite her casual tone, she has something on her mind._

_"Explain why you hate Drew so much." She stops slicing a potato and turns to face him fully._

_"I don't hate him." Stefan denies the accusation right away despite knowing it's sort of true. "I just think he's an idiot." He doesn't care that the guy Bonnie's currently dating is apparently the perfect man. In Stefan's eyes he will never be good enough for Bonnie, which is why Stefan has been so hostile to the guy whenever they are in the same room. "Am I not allowed to want more for you?"_

_"Somehow I have a hard time believing that's all there is to it."Bonnie rolls her eyes not believing him one bit, but decides to change the subject for now. _

Stefan smiles remembering how that particular conversation led to their first kiss a week later.

_Stefan pounds on Bonnie's door anxious to see her. He'd decided that he could no longer keep his feelings for his best friend to himself. The door opens and whatever he's about to say stops at his lips when he gets a look a Bonnie. She's wearing a clingy red dress and has a face full makeup. She looks breathtaking and he hates it. He hates because it means she's on her way out with the idiot._

_"Stefan what are you doing here?" Bonnie had been surprised to see Stefan when she opened the door, having expected Drew._

_"…" Stefan continues to stare at her silently, confusing Bonnie even more._

_"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with my dress?" _

_Stefan says nothing; instead he trails a hand up her cheek and tucks her hair behind her ear. His gaze moves down to her lips and without warning he's pulling her into a kiss._

_The moment their mouths meet, Bonnie melts into the kiss, trembling at how good it feels to kiss him. Her palms slide up his black shirt to caress over the hard shape of his chest before they slip around his neck._

_Stefan's hands move to the small of her back, bringing her closer to him. He growls softly into her mouth, revealing some desire he'd kept bottled up all this time._

_Bonnie's mouth is eager against his and when he sucks at her bottom lip, he hears her anxious mewls as well. Soon it becomes obvious that she needs some air so he pulls away. It's at that moment that he comes to his senses and realizes what he has just done. Slightly embarrassed by his behavior especially since she was on her way to meet another man, he speeds away._

_When Bonnie finally opens her eyes she quickly realizes that Stefan is no longer there. She touches her fingers to her lips, a mixture of bemusement and arousal on her face._

"So you kissed her and then ran off? I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume that didn't go over well." Bonnie giggles, knowing how pissed she would have been if that had been her.

"Yeah, she was pissed, but it all worked out in the end." Stefan grins, his mind going to that particular moment a few days after the kiss.

_Stefan is lying on his couch brooding when the door flies open and Bonnie storms in. Her hands are still up and he can tell that opened the door with her powers. He jumps up, nervous that she's here to ream him for kissing her. _

_"You have got to be kidding!" She stalks up to him. "You plant this amazing kiss on me, speed away before I can even react and then to top it all off, you avoid me for three days afterwards." She pokes him in the chest repeatedly. "What the hell is wrong with you?"_

_"I'm sorry." Is all Stefan can think to say in response, which is in hindsight is not best thing to say.  
_

_"You're sorry?" Bonnie glares at him angrily. "So you're saying you regret it." Bonnie feels the anger and hurt run through at the thought of him regretting it. The moment he kissed her, she realized that she had been pushing her feelings for him down because of a fear of rejection. So him not feeling the same way would be devastating._

_"No!" He blurts when he sees the hurt look on her face. "Of course I don't regret it. I've wanted to kiss you for awhile now" He decides to be honest, knowing Bonnie deserves the truth. "I just remembered that you were on your way to meet Drew and I guess I was little embarrassed by my behavior." He meets Bonnie's gaze head on._

_"You seriously couldn't figure out that I enjoyed the kiss?"_

_"Well yeah, but I figured maybe it was fluke or something." He looks her sheepishly, though he knows it wasn't on his part._

_"I guess there's only one way to find out." Bonnie says slyly before pulling him down for a kiss._

_Before Stefan can move, she's taking his mouth hungrily. Stefan doesn't hesitate and quickly wraps his arms around her back, pulling her closer to his hard frame. Their lips move together frantically, both trying to get as close as possible._

_Bonnie's pulls back, sucking in as much as she can before her gaze returns to Stefan. "So did that feel like a fluke?"_

_"No. Definitely not a fluke." He grins goofily at her until his eyes darken and he begins to look at her with a mixture of intensity before their lips crash together once again._

_ They continue to kiss each other madly and before Stefan can stop himself, he is backing her toward the couch. When her legs hit the arm of the couch, he lowers her down, covering her body with his own. He finds her lips again, his teeth nipping along their line before he tongue slips into her mouth. _

_They only kiss that night, but it's more fulfilling to Stefan than all of the one-night stands he's ever had._

"That sounds really great." Bonnie says after he's finished. She noticed the way his face lit up every time he started talking about his wife and Bonnie knows that woman definitely has Stefan's heart.

And suddenly Bonnie wonders if she'll ever find someone that will love her half as much as Stefan seems to love his wife.


	3. Chapter 3

A couple of hours later, Caroline returns after getting Matt home and is surprised to find Bonnie in the dining room while Stefan is in the kitchen washing dishes.

"Hey," Bonnie greets her with a smile. "How is Matt doing?"

"He's doing better. I think he'll be a little sore for the next few days though." Caroline cringes when she remembers how much Matt limped when he got out of the car. "Since it's so quiet, I'm guessing the others haven't gotten back yet and it's just you and Future Stefan."

Bonnie nods confirming Caroline's assumption.

"I see you made yourself dinner and dessert." Caroline looks at the dessert plate on the table in front of Bonnie.

"I didn't actually. Future Stefan made this." She tilts her head toward the kitchen where Stefan is.

"Really?" Caroline looks surprised. "I didn't know Stefan could cook."

"Neither did I, but it was amazing." She'd been surprised when her stomach growled earlier and Stefan offered to make her something. Curious about his cooking skills, she agreed and now here she was eating a piece of the cake he baked.

"So did you get any info about the woman that has Future Stefan's heart?" Caroline asks as she takes the seat next to Bonnie.

"Caroline, you should hear the way he talks about her." Bonnie says wistfully, something that doesn't escape Caroline's attention.

"What's she like? Is it an Elena 2.0 situation?" Caroline honestly hopes not because that would mean he just replaced Elena with this mystery woman. She wants something different for Stefan and hopes that what he has with this new woman.

"No." Bonnie shakes her head. "It's not like Elena at all. The vibe I get from him is completely different than the one our Stefan has with Elena."

"What do you mean?"

"You know how Stefan has a tendency to have singular-focus when it comes to Elena?"

"Yes." Caroline nods as she and Bonnie both remember the coin toss situation with Abby.

"I'm not really sure how to explain it." Bonnie taps her fingers on the table as she searches for the right way to phrase her thoughts. "He's obviously doing all he can to save his wife and it's obvious she's the best thing to ever happen to him, but we actually talked about a lot of different things. It wasn't about magic or Elena like it is with our Stefan."

Caroline is about to respond when Stefan walks in with a cake-filled plate and slides in front of Caroline.

"Wow! This so good."

Stefan and Bonnie both laugh when Caroline digs into it, making sounds of pleasure as she eats.

"So does the guy I end up with eat this in the future too?" She had been planning on making another attempt to question him when they were interrupted by the situation with Matt and Jeremy.

"Very subtle." Bonnie gets out between giggles, unable to hide her laughter.

"He does actually, but that's all I can tell you about him. Nice try though." Stefan shakes his head in amusement; he should have known Caroline wouldn't back down on this. He knows the future version of her can be just as persistent when comes to stuff like this.

The three turn toward the door when they hear door open and they see Damon saunter in, looking relaxed.

"What happened?" Caroline and Bonnie stand up and meet him in the living room.

"We managed to snap Jeremy out of out of it right away. It was actually a lot easier than we thought it would be, thanks to some tonic." Damon had been surprised when Jeremy's attitude change was fixed with a simple tonic, but he isn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"So why did it take so long for you to get back here?" Bonnie had been alone with Stefan long enough for him to make dinner and dessert.

"And where are Elena and Stefan?" Caroline assumed they would have come back with Damon after all was said and done.

"My brother ran off to be alone or something." He shrugs, he hadn't been all that focused on his brother. "And me and Elena were busy giving each other pleasure." He looks up at Stefan when he says the latter giving him a smug look.

Bonnie and Caroline give him twin looks of disgust, but Damon ignores them not at all surprised by them. What he's really interested in is Future Stefan's reaction. He had time to think and he's starting to believe that Future Stefan was lying to save face in front of everyone.

Stefan stares at Damon blank-faced for several before he starts to chuckle loudly, drawing the attention of Bonnie and Caroline who they hadn't realized was in the room.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Damon snarls at the future version of his brother. He'd purposely revealed his sex session with Elena hoping to gauge Stefan's reaction. He had expected some anger or hurt, not laughter. And he has to admit the laughter is throwing him off.

"You're seriously trying to bait me into a fight by bragging about sleeping with Elena?" He shakes his head in disbelief. "Despite me telling you that I don't end up with her."

"Listen you can pretend-"

"No you listen!" Stefan interrupts his voice suddenly serious and filled with emotion, surprising everyone in the room. "The only reason I'm here is to save the love of my life."

Both Bonnie and Caroline feel a tug at their hearts when his voice cracks slightly, while Damon sighs impatiently.

"I didn't come here to reminisce about my past relationship with Elena. And I definitely don't want to get into some stupid pissing contest with you." Stefan glowers at him, causing Damon to look away in annoyance. "The sooner you figure that out the better off we'll all be."

Stefan walks out of the room and makes his way to his temporary bedroom, feeling drained all of a sudden.

Not long after, Bonnie and Caroline decide to leave as well, no longer wanting to around Damon.

* * *

**Several hours later**

_When Stefan regains consciousness he feels as though he has been hit by a semi truck and when he looks around the room he is surprised to find himself on his couch at the boarding house. The last thing he remembers is being at Caroline and Tyler's rehearsal dinner. He and Bonnie had been out on the balcony until Caroline demanded they come back inside. They had been on their way inside when there was an explosion of fire and then nothing._

_Stefan sits up and Tyler is the first to notice. He nudges Caroline awake and she sighs sadly when she realizes Stefan is awake. How do you tell one of your best friends that their wife and child are gone?_

_"It's good to see you awake." Tyler is the first to speak, having no idea what to say. He knows Stefan won't want to be awake once he finds out what happened to Bonnie._

_"Where's Bonnie?" Stefan looks around in confusion when he fails to see Bonnie anywhere in the room. "Are she and the baby okay?"_

_Caroline exchanges a sad glance with Tyler, not quite knowing how to break the news to him. _

_"Tell me where my wife is!" Stefan picks up on their distress and begins to yell loudly._

_"Stefan…" Caroline begins sadly, tears welling up in her eyes. _

_"No!" He shakes his head, not wanting to hear the rest._

_"S-She didn't make it. I'm sorry." Caroline gets out between sobs._

_"No! No! You're lying to me. She can't be-" Stefan stands up and tries to rush out of the room.  
_

_"It's true the explosion was just too much for her body." Tyler stands in the doorway, blocking Stefan's exit. He knows if he lets him, Stefan will try to go back to the ballroom. "I'm really sorry, man."_

_The sad look on Tyler's face makes Stefan realize that what he and Caroline are telling him is the truth. That Bonnie and child are gone and suddenly all he sees is anger. _

_One minute Tyler is blocking Stefan from leaving and the next Stefan has him a chokehold. He looks into Stefan's eyes and Tyler can tell that the vampire is completely out of it. That he's fueled by his anger at losing his family in the blink of an eye. He understands it; he felt similarly when it came to Klaus. In the end Stefan had been the one to help him get past his hatred, so he'll take the brunt of Stefan's anger, knowing that the vampire needs an outlet. _

_Stefan's grip remains unmovable, despite Caroline's yells and attempts to pull him away. Eventually Tyler attempts to remove Stefan's hand from his throat as it's more difficult for him to breathe. However, it almost as though Stefan's fury gives him super strength because he's unable to break Stefan's hold._

_"Stefan, stop it!" Caroline yells out, only to be surprised when Stefan suddenly growls out in pain and drops Tyler to the floor. _

_After a few seconds Stefan collapses to the ground as well. Caroline is confused until she spots a vervain dart sticking out of Stefan neck and Matt holding one of Bonnie's dart guns. She assumes it must be one of her more mild guns since Stefan is still conscious and figures Matt must have gone to get the gun when she was trying to pull Stefan off of Tyler. _

_Caroline rushes to Tyler, worried that Stefan might have actually done some damage._

_"I'm okay." Tyler croaks out as she caresses his cheek. Once he catches his breath, they both take a look at the floor where Stefan is lying and share a sad look when they see the distraught look in Stefan's eyes._

Stefan shoots up in the bed, distressed by the memory. For a brief second he thinks that it was just a terrible nightmare, but when looks around and doesn't see Bonnie beside him, he remembers that his nightmare is actually reality. Not one night has passed that he hasn't been bombarded with the memory of being told Bonnie was gone. And tonight is no different.

Deciding that he needs some air, he pulls on his clothes and walks around town, coming to a stop when he realizes he's near the lake he and Bonnie have spent a lot of time at. After Silas, it had been difficult for him to come back here without remembering being in that safe, but he looks at it as the beginning of his life with Bonnie. He also remembers this being the place where he received some of the best news of his life.

_"Not that I'm not enjoying being out here with you, but is there a reason you asked me to bring you out here." Stefan asks as he holds Bonnie in his arms while they glance out at the lake._

_They had been on their way home from a movie night when Bonnie asked him to make a detour to the lake. He'd been surprised since it's February and it's still chilly outside, but when she looked at him with those beautiful green eyes, he couldn't say no. Besides the idea of wrapping his arms around Bonnie had incredibly appealing._

_"Because I need to tell you something and I thought this would be the best spot."_

_"What do you have to tell me?" He says softly as he presses a kiss against her forehead. He knows whatever it is has to be important since she wanted to come to the lake._

_"I will, but first I want you to use that vamp hearing and tell me what you hear out here." She shifts, giving him a smile that brightens when he does as she asks._

_Stefan closes his eyes and begins to pinpoint each sound. "I hear the wind blowing, the sound of you breathing and finally my favorite thing to listen to; your heartbeat." He finishes and looks at her not quite sure where she's going with this._

_"Anything else?" She asks as she rubs the back of his hand with her fingers._

_Stefan gives her a perplexed look, but listens again a bit more carefully this time. And he's surprised to hear a second heartbeat coming from Bonnie's body. Surprised he spins her around his arms so she facing him and listens again._

_"Another heartbeat-" His eyes shoot from Bonnie's coat covered stomach to her face where she's looking at him with a knowing smile on her face._

_"You're pregnant?" He asks just to make sure he's not hearing things. _

_Bonnie nods her head happily and laughs when he scoops her up into his arms, spinning her around in a circle before pressing his lips to hers._

Stefan is brought out of his thoughts when he hears the sound of a twig snapping and hears the object of his thoughts calling out his name.

"Stefan?" The last person Bonnie had expected to see when she decided to come out here was Stefan. At first she thought it was her Stefan, but based on his posture and his jacket, she quickly figured out it was Future Stefan. "What are you doing out here?"

"I come out here when I need to think." He feels a kick to his gut whenever he looks at her. It's hard being in her presence and not being able to greet her the way he normally would. It's even more difficult looking into her eyes and not seeing the love reflected in her eyes. Still being around any version of her means a lot to him so he tries to push down his depression and focus on the reason she's out here "What about you, why are you out here at 2am?"

"Same reason as you I guess. For some reason coming out here always calms me." Bonnie answers suddenly wondering if the Stefan that she knows does the same.

Stefan nods his head, despite knowing the answer to her question already.

"Are you okay? Wait, let me rephrase that, "What's wrong?" Bonnie asks bluntly, knowing right away that something is wrong.

"How did you know I was upset?" Stefan looks at her in shock, surprised that she figured it out so quickly. Then again Bonnie had always been good at reading him. Especially once they became closer.

"Well I mean aside from the whole I-traveled-back-in-time-to-save-my-wife thing, I can practically feel the pain coming from you." Bonnie doesn't know why she feels his pain so clearly, but she does and knows that he's trying his hardest to hide it from her.

"I couldn't sleep." He reveals after a few moments of silence. "I've been dreaming about what happened the night I lost her." He stares at the water seemingly lost in his pain. "Every time I wake up, for a few seconds I feel relief that it was only a nightmare. But when I see her side of the bed empty, I remember it actually happened and it's like I'm living it all over again." He looks down, trying to hold in his tears

"I want to help you." Bonnie blurts out suddenly. She hadn't planned on saying that, but seeing him so sad makes her want to help him.

"I couldn't ask you to do that." Stefan shakes his head negatively, not wanting her to get dragged into yet another problem. He also has to admit that the idea of Bonnie unknowingly helping herself kind of weirds him out.

"That's exactly why I want to help you. We talked for hours and it had nothing to do with magic. You didn't make me feel like a tool or a secret weapon. And I hate to say it, but feeling a human being doesn't happen to me all that much these days."

Bonnie looks away sadly and Stefan frowns knowing it will take awhile before she stops feeling that way. Not to mention ashamed that it takes him a while before he becomes an actual friend to Bonnie.

"So let me help you Salvatore. Let me help you find a way to save your wife." She implores fiercely.

"Okay." He gives her warm smile, knowing that there's no stopping her when she gets like this. "Thank You."

"Don't mention it." She smiles back at him and they both look out at the horizon taking in the glow of the moon against the lake.

-X-

"That's it, Love." Klaus groans as he thrusts inside of the woman he brought home tonight. After dealing with the Mystic Falls gang, all he wanted to do was satisfy himself with some blood and sex. So he'd picked out the beautiful woman he saw and now here he was embedded inside of her.

He slams into her a few times before he fills his balls tighten and then he's coming inside of her. He thrusts until she flies into her orgasm and without warning his bites into her neck draining her dry.

He begins to laugh evilly, knowing that she definitely hadn't planned on losing her life when she agreed to come home with her. Klaus is just about to drag the woman out of bed when he sees a flash of smoke and suddenly a dark-haired man he doesn't recognize is standing his front of him.

"Who the hell are you?" He snarls, jumping out of the bed, not caring one bit that he's naked. However before he can charge at him, a fist is hitting him in the face.

"Don't worry about who I am." The mystery man says as Klaus recovers from the punch. "All you need to know is that I'm from the future and I need your help to fix a problem I have."

"Why would I want to help you?" Klaus snaps, irritated by the man's presence.

"You want to take over this place right?" He asks referring to the town of Mystic Falls.

Klaus says nothing, only giving him a blank stare.

"Well I can help you do it if you help me." The mystery man hints knowing that Klaus is attracted to power,

"By doing what exactly?" He asks somewhat intrigued but still cautious.

"By taking out the Bennett witch."

Klaus laughs in disbelief. Bonnie may be thorn in his side, but she can be useful to him at times.

"I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the witch. She is even more powerful in the future than she is now and manages to destroy you."

"Now I know you're lying." Klaus chuckles. "She wouldn't dare because if she does that means she kills nearly everyone she cares about as well."

"What if I told you that the witch found away to destroy you without harming anyone she cares about."

"…" Klaus frowns worriedly, he'd known Bonnie was powerful and he thought it was attractive, but not if she manages to destroy him with that power.

Knowing this is his chance to convince Klaus, the man continues trying to convince him.

"I managed to succeed in the future, but afterwards I realized that killing her now would prevent her from doing all the good she will do in the future. Which will turn the tide back over to my side." The man grins at him.

"Again I have to ask, aside from preventing my murder, what is in it for me?"

"It's simple kill the witch and I'll make you even more powerful and indestructible than you already are. Do we have a deal?" He raises an eyebrow, waiting for Klaus' response.

"We have a deal." Klaus agrees. "Now get the hell out of my bedroom."


End file.
